LinYushen 28de8b8bde feat(cli): central error translation layer (PR1, MUL-3104) (#3892)
* feat(cli): add central error translation layer (PR1)

Introduce server/internal/cli/errors.go, a single user-facing error
translation layer that collapses raw transport errors, HTTP status
errors, and internal verb-wrapped chains into clear, localized messages.

- ErrorKind classification (network timeout/DNS/refused/TLS/offline,
  401/403/404/409/400+422/429/5xx, unknown)
- NetworkError wraps transport errors and strips the raw URL from the
  user-facing message; classifyNetworkError categorizes via errors.As/Is
  with string fallbacks
- HTTPError.Kind() maps status codes onto ErrorKind
- FormatError: bilingual output (English default, auto-switch to Chinese
  on a zh LC_ALL/LC_MESSAGES/LANG locale), validation errors surface the
  server message; --debug / MULTICA_DEBUG appends the full raw chain
- ExitCodeFor: tiered exit codes (network=2, auth=3, 404=4, validation=5,
  other=1)
- client.go: default HTTP timeout 15s -> 30s, overridable via
  MULTICA_HTTP_TIMEOUT; wrap every transport Do() error as *NetworkError
- main.go: route errors through FormatError + ExitCodeFor, add persistent
  --debug flag

Unit tests cover every ErrorKind, classification, language detection,
exit codes, server-message extraction, and timeout parsing.

Refs MUL-3104. PR1 of 3; PR2/PR3 (status-code copy refinement and
per-command customization) follow separately.

Co-authored-by: multica-agent <github@multica.ai>

* fix(cli): address review — unify command timeouts and classify all helper errors

Must-fix 1: command-level contexts no longer truncate MULTICA_HTTP_TIMEOUT.
Added cli.APITimeout/AtLeastAPITimeout/APIContext (budget = transport timeout
+ small grace, honoring MULTICA_HTTP_TIMEOUT) and replaced the hardcoded 15s
context.WithTimeout in every API command (14 files, 92 sites) with
cli.APIContext. The issue-create/comment path now uses APITimeout() with a
60s floor for attachment uploads.

Must-fix 2: all API helpers now return *HTTPError on status >= 400. Added a
shared newHTTPError(method, path, resp) and routed GetJSON, GetJSONWithHeaders,
PostJSON, PutJSON, PatchJSON, DeleteJSON, DeleteJSONWithBody, UploadFile,
UploadFileWithURL, DownloadFile (and HealthCheck) through it, so issue
update/status/metadata (PUT), comment list (GetJSONWithHeaders), project/label/
comment delete (DELETE) and agent/workspace/autopilot update (PUT/PATCH) all
get HTTPError.Kind() classification, friendly copy, and the tiered exit code
instead of the raw string + exit 1.

Tests: new errors_integration_test.go drives the real helpers against a fake
server and asserts FormatError copy + ExitCodeFor for 401/403/404/422/500
across all 10 helpers, plus a slow-server test proving the command context
does not cancel before the transport timeout. Updated the UploadFileWithURL
assertion to check for *HTTPError.

Refs MUL-3104, PR #3892.

Co-authored-by: multica-agent <github@multica.ai>

* fix(cli): make remaining fixed-timeout API commands honor MULTICA_HTTP_TIMEOUT

Closes out the timeout work: the last API command paths still used a
hardcoded context deadline that capped MULTICA_HTTP_TIMEOUT. Converted them
to cli.AtLeastAPITimeout(<original floor>) so the env override scales them up
while preserving each original lower bound:

- cmd_autopilot.go  autopilot trigger      30s -> AtLeastAPITimeout(30s)
- cmd_attachment.go attachment download    60s -> AtLeastAPITimeout(60s)
- cmd_agent.go      avatar upload           60s -> AtLeastAPITimeout(60s)
- cmd_skill.go      skill import / search    60s -> AtLeastAPITimeout(60s)
- cmd_runtime.go    runtime update         150s -> AtLeastAPITimeout(150s)
- cmd_login.go      workspace-creation poll 10s -> AtLeastAPITimeout(10s)

The login poll keeps a short 10s floor to stay responsive within its 5-minute
loop, but it is NOT a silent exception: AtLeastAPITimeout means it still scales
with MULTICA_HTTP_TIMEOUT. Documented in code and covered by a new subtest in
TestAPITimeoutRespectsEnv.

Refs MUL-3104, PR #3892.

Co-authored-by: multica-agent <github@multica.ai>

* style(cli): gofmt cmd_attachment.go to unblock backend CI

Co-authored-by: multica-agent <github@multica.ai>

---------

Co-authored-by: multica-agent <github@multica.ai>
2026-06-08 15:34:59 +08:00

Multica — humans and agents, side by side

Multica

Multica

Your next 10 hires won't be human.

The open-source managed agents platform.
Turn coding agents into real teammates — assign tasks, track progress, compound skills.

CI GitHub stars

Website · Cloud · X · Self-Hosting · Contributing

English | 简体中文

What is Multica?

Multica turns coding agents into real teammates. Assign issues to an agent like you'd assign to a colleague — they'll pick up the work, write code, report blockers, and update statuses autonomously.

No more copy-pasting prompts. No more babysitting runs. Your agents show up on the board, participate in conversations, and compound reusable skills over time. Think of it as open-source infrastructure for managed agents — vendor-neutral, self-hosted, and designed for human + AI teams. Works with Claude Code, Codex, GitHub Copilot CLI, OpenClaw, OpenCode, Hermes, Gemini, Pi, Cursor Agent, Kimi, and Kiro CLI.

For larger teams, Squads add a stable routing layer: assign work to a group led by an agent, and the leader delegates to the right member.

Multica board view

Why "Multica"?

Multica — Multiplexed Information and Computing Agent.

The name is a nod to Multics, the pioneering operating system of the 1960s that introduced time-sharing — letting multiple users share a single machine as if each had it to themselves. Unix was born as a deliberate simplification of Multics: one user, one task, one elegant philosophy.

We think the same inflection is happening again. For decades, software teams have been single-threaded — one engineer, one task, one context switch at a time. AI agents change that equation. Multica brings time-sharing back, but for an era where the "users" multiplexing the system are both humans and autonomous agents.

In Multica, agents are first-class teammates. They get assigned issues, report progress, raise blockers, and ship code — just like their human colleagues. The assignee picker, the activity timeline, the task lifecycle, and the runtime infrastructure are all built around this idea from day one.

Like Multics before it, the bet is on multiplexing: a small team shouldn't feel small. With the right system, two engineers and a fleet of agents can move like twenty.

Features

Multica manages the full agent lifecycle: from task assignment to execution monitoring to skill reuse.

  • Agents as Teammates — assign to an agent like you'd assign to a colleague. They have profiles, show up on the board, post comments, create issues, and report blockers proactively.
  • Squads — group agents (and humans) under a leader agent and assign work to the squad. The leader decides who should pick it up, so routing stays stable as the team grows. @FrontendTeam instead of @alice-or-bob-or-carol.
  • Autonomous Execution — set it and forget it. Full task lifecycle management (enqueue, claim, start, complete/fail) with real-time progress streaming via WebSocket.
  • Autopilots — schedule recurring work for agents. Cron triggers, webhooks, or manual runs — each autopilot creates the issue and routes it to an agent automatically, so daily standups, weekly reports, and periodic audits run themselves.
  • Reusable Skills — every solution becomes a reusable skill for the whole team. Deployments, migrations, code reviews — skills compound your team's capabilities over time.
  • Unified Runtimes — one dashboard for all your compute. Local daemons and cloud runtimes, auto-detection of available CLIs, real-time monitoring.
  • Multi-Workspace — organize work across teams with workspace-level isolation. Each workspace has its own agents, issues, and settings.

Quick Install

brew install multica-ai/tap/multica

Use brew upgrade multica-ai/tap/multica to keep the CLI current.

macOS / Linux (install script)

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/multica-ai/multica/main/scripts/install.sh | bash

Use this if Homebrew is not available. The script installs the Multica CLI on macOS and Linux by using Homebrew when it is on PATH, otherwise it downloads the binary directly.

Windows (PowerShell)

irm https://raw.githubusercontent.com/multica-ai/multica/main/scripts/install.ps1 | iex

Then configure, authenticate, and start the daemon in one command:

multica setup          # Connect to Multica Cloud, log in, start daemon

Self-hosting? Add --with-server to deploy a full Multica server on your machine:

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/multica-ai/multica/main/scripts/install.sh | bash -s -- --with-server
multica setup self-host

This pulls the official Multica images from GHCR (latest stable by default). Requires Docker. See the Self-Hosting Guide for details. If the selected GHCR tag has not been published yet, fall back to make selfhost-build from a checkout.


Getting Started

1. Set up and start the daemon

multica setup           # Configure, authenticate, and start the daemon

The daemon runs in the background and auto-detects agent CLIs (claude, codex, copilot, openclaw, opencode, hermes, gemini, pi, cursor-agent, kimi, kiro-cli, agy) on your PATH.

2. Verify your runtime

Open your workspace in the Multica web app. Navigate to Settings → Runtimes — you should see your machine listed as an active Runtime.

What is a Runtime? A Runtime is a compute environment that can execute agent tasks. It can be your local machine (via the daemon) or a cloud instance. Each runtime reports which agent CLIs are available, so Multica knows where to route work.

3. Create an agent

Go to Settings → Agents and click New Agent. Pick the runtime you just connected and choose a provider (Claude Code, Codex, GitHub Copilot CLI, OpenClaw, OpenCode, Hermes, Gemini, Pi, Cursor Agent, Kimi, Kiro CLI, or Antigravity). Give your agent a name — this is how it will appear on the board, in comments, and in assignments.

4. Assign your first task

Create an issue from the board (or via multica issue create), then assign it to your new agent. The agent will automatically pick up the task, execute it on your runtime, and report progress — just like a human teammate.


CLI

The multica CLI connects your local machine to Multica — authenticate, manage workspaces, and run the agent daemon.

Command Description
multica login Authenticate (opens browser)
multica daemon start Start the local agent runtime
multica daemon status Check daemon status
multica setup One-command setup for Multica Cloud (configure + login + start daemon)
multica setup self-host Same, but for self-hosted deployments
multica workspace list List your workspaces (current is marked with *)
multica workspace switch <id|slug> Switch the default workspace for this profile
multica issue list List issues in your workspace
multica issue create Create a new issue
multica update Update to the latest version

See the CLI and Daemon Guide for the full command reference.


Architecture

┌──────────────┐     ┌──────────────┐     ┌──────────────────┐
│   Next.js    │────>│  Go Backend  │────>│   PostgreSQL     │
│   Frontend   │<────│  (Chi + WS)  │<────│   (pgvector)     │
└──────────────┘     └──────┬───────┘     └──────────────────┘
                            │
                     ┌──────┴───────┐
                     │ Agent Daemon │  runs on your machine
                     └──────────────┘  (Claude Code, Codex, GitHub Copilot CLI,
                                        OpenCode, OpenClaw, Hermes, Gemini,
                                        Pi, Cursor Agent, Kimi, Kiro CLI)
Layer Stack
Frontend Next.js 16 (App Router)
Backend Go (Chi router, sqlc, gorilla/websocket)
Database PostgreSQL 17 with pgvector
Agent Runtime Local daemon executing Claude Code, Codex, GitHub Copilot CLI, OpenClaw, OpenCode, Hermes, Gemini, Pi, Cursor Agent, Kimi, or Kiro CLI

Development

For contributors working on the Multica codebase, see the Contributing Guide.

Prerequisites: Node.js v20+, pnpm v10.28+, Go v1.26+, Docker

make dev

make dev auto-detects your environment (main checkout or worktree), creates the env file, installs dependencies, sets up the database, runs migrations, and starts all services.

See CONTRIBUTING.md for the full development workflow, worktree support, testing, and troubleshooting.

An iOS mobile client lives in apps/mobile/ — see its README for how to build it onto your own iPhone.

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TypeScript 42.8%
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